The Depth Within A Look
by yungXweeb
Summary: Just a one shot I wrote based off of a single expression of Daenerys Targaryen as she first sees Jon's scars.


Jon suddenly broke through the surface of the water with a large gasp for air. He could feel his cheeks nearly freeze from where the air hit his soaked skin. He thrust his arm towards the bank of ice. His hand closed around the hilt of Longclaw and he began to use the cross guard as an ice pick to drag himself from the water. As soon as his body was on land he took in deep breaths. He may have only been in the water for a few moments but it had felt like an eternity to him. He had been certain that he was going to die in those icy waters. He began to stumble away from the hole he dragged himself from when he heard the growls and moans of the White Walkers. Dread filled his frame as he realized that he was frighteningly alone. _So this is where I die, _he thought. After all the battles he had fought, the horrors he had witnessed and the desperate way he had tried to protect those he loved from this threat, here he was about to die by their hands. He turned to face the charging masses when he saw the flash of what appeared to be flame. It took him a moment to make out the horse galloping through the Whites, it's rider swinging the flaming ball left and right to fend them off. The horse skidded to a stop next to Jon and the rider dismounted. Jon, too cold to form words, watched as the rider thrust back their cowl.

"Uncle Benjen? How?" To say that Jon was surprised would be an understatement. His confusion was written across his face as Benjen strode towards him. Benjen gathered Jon and helped him up onto the horse he had been riding a moment ago.

"Ride for the pass." came Benjen's gruff response.

"Come with me." It was muttered but the emotion within those three words was palpable. Jon watched as Benjen merely shook his head. The small hope Jon had begun to nurture at the sight of his uncle, who he believed to be dead, was immediately crushed. 

"There's no time. Go!" with this last exclamation Benjen slapped the rear of the horse, sending it and Jon hurtling away from the horde rushing towards them. Benjen turned to face the Whites, comfortable in the knowledge that he had done the only thing he wanted. He trusted his nephew to not stop.

Jon glanced back and was horrified to see Benjen attempt to fight off the monsters only for him to be swiftly overrun. He watched his uncle fall and become covered in the creatures. He turned away. The air on his still soaked skin was somehow even colder than the water which had almost taken his life. He did his best to steer the horse the now familiar way back towards the wall. Back to woman who had not only rescued him and the others, but who had lost one of her dragons in doing so. The cold was starting to take it's toll on his body. He faded in and out throughout the ride. He only allowed his consciousness to slip once he saw the wall ahead, past the tree line.

Daenerys stood in one of the outlooks at the top of the wall. She stared in utter sadness and despair as she scanned the tree line for any sign of Jon emerging. She refused to believe that he was dead. She knew he wasn't, something inside of her told her that. She had to wait for him.

"It's time to go, Your Grace." Jorah muttered. It pained him to see his Queen so upset. It pained him even more to know that the young King was most likely dead and that Daenerys was waiting in vain.

"A bit longer." Daenerys couldn't drag her eyes from the forest. She knew that she should be more concerned with beginning the long journey back to Dragonstone but something inside her rooted her to the spot. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jorah nod and retreat to a spot just a few feet behind her. Minutes that felt like hours passed in silence. Finally Daenerys turned around. _He's dead. I've only just met him and now he's dead_, she thought. Her heart wrenched at the idea of Jon Snow being dead. She couldn't explain why the thought of Jon Snow being dead hurt her the way it dead. She wasn't so blind as to not see the affection that had been growing for the stoic king but she had pushed it aside.

As she made her way towards the stairs that led to the lift, she heard a horn. Her head whipped towards the forest. There, emerging as though a phoenix rising from ashes, was a lone rider heading towards the gate. She heard one of the men from down below call for the gate to be lowered. Dare she hope?

Her and Jorah made their way down from the top of the wall as fast as their legs would allow. As they exited the lift, they could see the nearly frozen form of Jon Snow being lowered from the back of the horse. Daenerys felt relief as she had never felt before when she saw the breath exiting his mouth. It was labored and jerky, the shivers racking his unconscious body in a violent way, but it was there. Proof that Jon was alive, at least for now.

"Take him to my ship and put him in my quarters. We'll start a fire immediately to warm him." Daenerys ordered. The authority in her voice allowed no question and the men hurried to do as she bid. She followed behind them, unwilling to leave for any reason. Jorah rushed ahead to begin the fire in the queen's chambers on the boat.

Ser Daavos and another member of the Night's Watch lowered Jon's body onto the bed. The crunch of his frozen clothes nearly crushed Daenerys' heart. She watched on silently as they worked to remove the clothes from his body. The relief that had welled up within her when she realized he was alive slowly began to seep out, turning to dread at what she saw as Jon's now bare form was lowered back to the bed.

The scars were jagged and ugly. There were more than Daenerys had ever seen on a man not yet dead. Her eyes drank in the sight. The scar that drew her eyes the most was the one that ran above where Daenerys knew his heart to be. It was at this moment she recalled what Ser Daavos had said when they first came to ask for her help in fighting the army of the Dead.

"_You don't believe him." It was a statement, not a question. Ser Daavos came forward, first meeting Daenerys' gaze and then Tyrion's. "I understand that, it sounds like nonsense. But if Destiny has brought Daenerys Targaryen back to our shores, it has also made Jon Snow King in the North. You were the first to bring Dothraki to Westeros?" Daavos posed the question to Daenerys but continued without waiting for a response. "He is the first to make allies of Wildlings and Northmen. He was named Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. He was named King in the North. Not because of his birthright, he has no birthright. He's a damn bastard." There was a pregnant pause as those assembled waited to hear where he was going with this. "All those hard sons of bitches chose him as their leader because they believe in him. All those things you don't believe in, he's faced those things. He faced them for the good of his people. He risked his life for his people, he took a knife in the heart for his people. He gave his own-" A look from Jon stopped Daavos mid-sentence._

The words suddenly made sense in the face of the scars she could see littered across his torso. Daenerys shook her head. _No one should've been able to survive that, _she thought. Her head shook at the realization that Daavos hadn't been exaggerating, as Jon had led her to believe. She knew not how it was possible but it became clear that what Jon had interrupted Daavos in saying. _He gave his life for his people_, she thought. With this thought, it was almost as if a veil was pulled from over her eyes. She saw now why those who followed Jon chose to do so. Everything she had done for her people paled in comparison to what Jon must've gone through. She clearly understood the type of person Jon was now. The affection that she had tried to tamp down came roaring back. It coiled low in her gut and traveled to every part of her body. She could feel it growing and shifting, no longer just physical attraction. She knew then that this man was worthy of her. _But am I worthy of him?_ The question hung in her head unanswered. Could she have done whatever it was that he had done? Were she in his place could she have made the same choices and sacrifices for her people? She didn't know.


End file.
